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Friday, November 14, 2014

The Not Writing Creative Outlet

The things I do other than writing:

1. Sing - sang professionally for a short bit, mostly for a medieval minstrel troupe. I can, indeed, still sing a couple of songs from right around the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This is galling, mind you, because I went to an arts college. But not for music, where I made far and away more money than I ever made in my degree field which was:

2. Acting. Ah, yes. The much vaunted BFA in acting. Did some acting. Mostly extra and bit parts in commercials, TV shows and films that were in town. That faded as most shows moved north into Canada where it is apparently cheaper and easier to film. So then I went back to stage shows, mostly Shakespeare. Even helped choreograph fight scenes since I did come away with a certification in staged combat. Another skill that I'm sure will come in handy some day. Zombie apocalypse, maybe. Most of my acting these days is relegated to staging and playing out contentious scenes in a story. Helps to be able to get up, get into a character and look at a scene that way.

3. Taking pictures. This is the only place I actually have photos to offer up. And please note that while I *like* taking pictures, I make no claim that I'm actually any good at it. It's just a way to force my vision from the interior of my head to the world outside. Dead useful.

This first shot, left, is sunset over the Olympic mountains. The rocks in the foreground are the breakwater protecting our marina. Forest fires in California and in Eastern Washington threw smoke high into the atmosphere and gave us a summer of unbelievable sunsets.

Then I had to get a moon shot. Everyone else was getting the super moon, but my camera and I aren't equipped to get shots of the brilliant full moon. That takes tripods, stability, and filters. Far easier and far more effective for me to go for a dimmer gibbous. This image is impressive because I took it from the transom of the boat. On water. Love my Nikon.

The last image is from a beach walk. I found a great blue heron just off shore, taking advantage of the low tide. While I'd really wanted a shot of him snagging his breakfast from the water, his fishing expedition wasn't much of a success. He made a few grabs, but failed to bring up the goods. What I do like about the shot is the detail in the feathers on his wing. Contrast isn't the greatest, but hey. This is why I'm not attempting to make any kind of living from taking pictures.

Finally. There's this thing happening Tuesday 11/18. The second installment in Isa's adventures comes out. May I ask for your assistance on Tuesday? I could use the help getting the word out. I will certainly post to Twitter and Facebook and the like, but my reach is limited. If you'll do this, I promise I'll stop singing.

Ooo! Thank you! Yeah, I take my camera with me and force myself to experiment - see what the camera can do and find out what I can see. I thought someone, somewhere, would be impressed that I had three whole photos that weren't cats. :D